KJ Noons to sign with UFC, could debut at UFN 18

The UFC are set to sign one of the hottest free agents in MMA in KJ Noons, the former EliteXC lightweight champion, MMABay can EXCLUSIVELY reveal.

Noons was stripped of the title last year after refusing to defend it in a rematch against former UFC fighter, Nick Diaz. His contract expired last week, making him one of the most wanted free agents on the MMA scene.

Rumour has it that the former pro-boxer could debut at UFC Fight Night 18 against Melvin Guillard.

Guillard should be able to handle Noons. If he uses his wrestling, that is.

wiggum

1/13/09 3:04:40PM

awesome, ive been waiting a while to see if kj would come to the ufc to get his arse handed to him....he is definitly on my list of overhyped fighters....lots of young potential but i think he is really gonna get exposed....guillard is a serious threat to kj since kj likes to stand and guillard can knock people out with even a grazing punch.....should be exciting....after that, if he wins, give him a fighter that knows the ground game for once, i wanna see him get tested there

Wolfenstein

1/13/09 3:14:40PM

MMABAY was on a roll for a while breaking stories before just about all the major MMA sites, but it looks like they're picking up some bad rumors today. KJ is still caught up in the Elite XC debacle, and Melvin was recently arrested for violating probation, so I don't see how there can be any truth to this one.

lildragonmvp

1/13/09 3:20:47PM

cant wait to see kj fight again

The_Italian_Stallion

1/13/09 3:23:22PM

Have people forgotten about the whole ducking Nick Diaz fiasco?

Why would the UFC want that kind of fighter? Sure he's talented and has some marketing potential but when you're letting fighters like Fabricio Werdum get away and trying to get someone like this it perturbs me a bit.

Plus he normally fights at 160 is he going to be able to trim those extra five pounds, I'm not sure he can he looks kind of big and bulky for lightweight.

Mayhem13

1/13/09 3:27:10PM

KJ was a free agent when that ship sank so this could be true.

But this is a real bad matchup for Noons. The only weakness that he has shown so far, is a major inability to defend against black men on probation!

That said I like this matchup. Kj is much more technical, but I would go with Melvin by ko. He is very heavy handed and explosive.

EvenFlow

1/13/09 3:53:18PM

Guillard by brutal Krazy Horse knockout, cant wait to see it.

higdon10

1/13/09 3:55:38PM

KJ is not the fighter that some think he is. He won't win many fights in the UFC.

Twenty20Dollars

1/13/09 3:59:46PM

Krazy Horse I mean Guillard beats KJ by tko.

Then Nate Diaz calls out Noons and he ducks him.

telnights

1/13/09 4:00:15PM

I'm not sure this is true if so I'm shocked. The UFC has had problems before with his manager Mark Dion and has said they will never again deal with Mark Dion because of the hole issue with Brandon Vera. Plus you have to take in to account that KJ and his manager were trying to tell EliteXC who was the top contender and who wasn't while ducking Diaz. I'm not sure the UFC would want to deal with the head ache. KJ isn't a big name and his claim to fame is ducking Diaz and being striped of his tittle for doing so.

Darnok

1/13/09 5:04:56PM

Posted by MMAcca

The source is MMA Bay, so not sure how accurate the report is.....

When a site over uses the term Exclusively in capital letters it definitely raise a few questions.

prozacnation1978

1/13/09 5:14:32PM

i can't believe they signed that coward i hope nick's bro nate gets a piece of k.j but i'll be rooting for melvin to knock him out

motorboatensob

1/13/09 5:17:51PM

I want to know why haven't they signed any of the other fighters Robbie L and Nick D they would both be good draws on a fight card.

Shawn17

1/13/09 5:44:37PM

KJ Noons will smash Melvin. KJ is underated IMO. He has some of the best hands out there and showed a solid TD defense against Diaz. He battered Diaz and got by his reach no problem.

Shawn17

1/13/09 5:47:54PM

Posted by prozacnation1978

i can't believe they signed that coward i hope nick's bro nate gets a piece of k.j but i'll be rooting for melvin to knock him out

How is he a coward? He smashed Diaz convincingly. We didnt need to see any more rounds Diaz had nothing for him. He would have fought Diaz again the thing is why as champion should he be making less money then the challenger Diaz?? Makes no sense.

Sir_Karl

1/13/09 6:12:34PM

I pretty much agree with Shawn17. Noons is no joke.Apparently nobody watched the Diaz fight.

bls1919

1/13/09 6:13:56PM

WOW i might have to root for Guillard in this one. He should be able to take Nons out. He was a pro boxewre but he hasn't faced anyone who is as athletic as Melvin. Guillard KO .........I hope

Pookie

1/13/09 6:23:54PM

Posted by Shawn17

How is he a coward? He smashed Diaz convincingly. We didnt need to see any more rounds Diaz had nothing for him. He would have fought Diaz again the thing is why as champion should he be making less money then the challenger Diaz?? Makes no sense.

Because his name doesnt have any drawing power. And Considering Elitexc's infatuation with putting on shows in teh Bay Area, Diaz then becomes a huge name when it comes to drawing power since hes from that area.

Why would Noons refuse a rematch with Diaz just because the guy is making more money then him? Selfishness or Cowardice.

Also how many times has Diaz been in a fight where he was being "smashed" just to come back and win the fight, convincingly.

We didnt need to see any more rounds Diaz had nothing for him

The fight was 1 round and it ended in a cut. Yeah, we should have seen more rounds, and we would have if Noones hadnt flat out refused to fight him again.

If we were to judge Every fight by how the first round took place, Rashad wouldnt be champion nor would he have gotten his title shot against Forrest(who also wouldnt be champion), because he lost that first round to chuck.

im2fast4u1981

1/13/09 6:31:44PM

K.J. sucks...i seen the diaz fight...i also seen crazy horse knock his punk ass out..... Melivin will destory K.J...If this rumor is true he will be a free agent again really soon...I really cant think of anyone he can beat in the ufc................

gartface

1/13/09 6:57:28PM

Posted by Pookie

Posted by Shawn17

We didnt need to see any more rounds Diaz had nothing for him

The fight was 1 round and it ended in a cut. Yeah, we should have seen more rounds, and we would have if Noones hadnt flat out refused to fight him again.

If we were to judge Every fight by how the first round took place, Rashad wouldnt be champion nor would he have gotten his title shot against Forrest(who also wouldnt be champion), because he lost that first round to chuck.

Because Diaz was going to end up winning that by third round ref stoppage due to butt scooting.

Pookie

1/13/09 7:04:43PM

To say he had no chance to finish the fight in the next 2 rounds is ridiculous.

Edit - It may be 4 more rounds since it was a title match

DCRage

1/13/09 7:36:57PM

According to a source close to Noons, False. This seems to be proof that MMA Bay is a site NOT to be trusted.

Edit: As a matter of fact, FYI to everyone-don't post anything from MMA Bay in the future. There's now reason enough not to trust it from various sites I've checked.

xtra_chewy

1/13/09 7:59:04PM

Should be a pretty exciting fight if it happens!Hopefully a big set up to rematch Noons/Diaz!

BDON911

1/13/09 8:40:18PM

This = not true

titorican

1/13/09 10:12:31PM

Noons isn't anywhere near ready for the UFC IMO. But I do hope it's true so we can see Nate Diaz triangle him back into obscurity at some point soon.

whardin19

1/13/09 10:16:42PM

I think it would be a good signing if it did happen. Hopefully Noons has ducked his last fight though. But is he really signed with the UFC that is the question.

Shawn17

1/13/09 11:11:39PM

nothing at all made me thinkdiaz could win. he took noons down once and noons escaped and got back up. noons also stuffed like for 4-5 takedowns. he was battering diaz on the feet. maybe diaz could have pulled something out later but his face was rather messed up. so what if diaz is a big draw, noons was being treated unfairly by elitexc and everyone knows it. they made a weight class specifially for diaz and he lost. they despertaley wanted him to be champion. noons was not getting the money he deserved--thats why he didnt accept the match not because he was scared of the guy he just battered and dominated.

MMAcca

1/13/09 11:31:28PM

Posted by DCRage

According to a source close to Noons, False. This seems to be proof that MMA Bay is a site NOT to be trusted.

Edit: As a matter of fact, FYI to everyone-don't post anything from MMA Bay in the future. There's now reason enough not to trust it from various sites I've checked.

Duely noted

Aether

1/14/09 12:01:08AM

Posted by Shawn17

Posted by prozacnation1978

i can't believe they signed that coward i hope nick's bro nate gets a piece of k.j but i'll be rooting for melvin to knock him out

How is he a coward? He smashed Diaz convincingly. We didnt need to see any more rounds Diaz had nothing for him. He would have fought Diaz again the thing is why as champion should he be making less money then the challenger Diaz?? Makes no sense.

Exactly what pookie said. It makes perfect sense if you understand basic economics, because nick diaz is popular and kj noons is not. Nick sells tickets, he's one of the more popular fighters around, you get paid to make the company money, you do that by selling tickets, not by having a shiny belt around your waist.